Publications by authors named "Teodora Biciusca"

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the common and potentially lethal manifestations of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs). ILD's prevalence, clinical patterns, imaging, and natural history are variable. Each of the representative diseases-systemic sclerosis (SSc), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjӧgren's syndrome (SjS), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-have distinct clinical, paraclinical and evolutionary features.

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  • The study investigates the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically ChatGPT, in medical education, focusing on their ability to enhance the learning experience for medical students.
  • Using 151 radiology exam questions, the performance of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 was assessed, with GPT-4 showing significantly higher accuracy (88.1%) compared to GPT-3.5 (67.6%).
  • Results suggest that LLMs, especially GPT-4, could serve as effective study resources for medical students preparing for exams, although users should be cautious of potential inaccuracies in responses.
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: This study aimed to evaluate the tumor response relating to and survival benefit of transarterial chemoperfusion (TACP) and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of patients with unresectable gynecologic tumors who are intolerant of or have a suboptimal response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. : Between January 2000 and October 2023, 75 patients diagnosed with gynecologic tumors underwent 213 TACP and 154 TACE procedures. Of these, 33 patients were treated with TACP, 20 were treated with TACE, and 22 received a combination of both therapies.

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Intussusception in adult patients is a rare medical finding, which is accompanied by an underlying tumor in some cases. However, no accepted method has been established to identify patients at risk for tumor-related intussusception. This study aimed to identify imaging features as predictors for tumor-related intussusception.

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  • Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is an increasing health issue, mainly caused by slow-growing mycobacteria (SGM) in Europe.
  • A study analyzed 135 CT scans from 84 patients to investigate the correlation between clinical data and radiological features of various SGM species, especially emphasizing Mycobacterium avium complex.
  • Findings suggest that patients with M. intracellulare had more severe CT results, and the study indicates that a specific CT scoring system could be beneficial for tracking disease progression and treatment decisions.
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An accurate diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is crucial, given the potential for high mortality in undetected cases. Strategic D-dimer testing may aid in identifying low-risk patients, preventing overdiagnosis and reducing imaging costs. We conducted a retrospective, comparative analysis to assess the potential cost savings that could be achieved by adopting different approaches to determine the most effective D-dimer cut-off value in cancer patients with suspected VTE, compared to the commonly used rule-out cut-off level of 0.

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  • A study of a slow-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium revealed it can cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections, yet its detailed genomic and clinical characteristics remain unclear.
  • Whole genome sequencing was performed on 33 isolates from seven patients over 14 years, correlating genomic data with clinical outcomes, highlighting low relevance in most cases.
  • The findings showed high genomic stability over time and no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission, suggesting that while transmission is possible, it is unlikely based on the current data.
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Background: The advent of advanced computed tomography (CT) technology and the field of radiomics has opened up new avenues in diagnostic assessments. Increasingly, there is substantial evidence advocating for the incorporation of quantitative imaging biomarkers in the clinical decision-making process. This study aimed to examine the correlation between D-dimer levels and thrombus size in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) combining dual-energy CT (DECT) and radiomics and to investigate the diagnostic utility of a machine learning classifier based on dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) radiomics for identifying patients with a complicated course, defined as at least hospitalization at IMC.

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Currently, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease worldwide, with a prevalence of 32%. It is much more common among men (40%) and among patients with metabolic comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemia. Being an asymptomatic disease, the diagnosis is often established on the basis of imaging methods, with an important role given to abdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

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  • Cancer patients are at a higher risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), but traditional D-dimer testing combined with clinical assessment may not be as effective in this group.
  • D-dimer levels can help rule out VTE, and if elevated beyond ten times the normal limit, may indicate a high probability of VTE with over 80% positive predictive value, while also providing prognostic information about cancer severity and potential outcomes.
  • There is a need for standardizing D-dimer testing protocols and creating tailored models for assessing cancer patients to improve diagnostic accuracy for VTE.
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Background: The advent of next-generation computed tomography (CT)- and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) opened many new perspectives in the evaluation of tumor characteristics. An increasing body of evidence suggests the incorporation of quantitative imaging biomarkers into clinical decision-making to provide mineable tissue information. The present study sought to evaluate the diagnostic and predictive value of a multiparametric approach involving radiomics texture analysis, dual-energy CT-derived iodine concentration (DECT-IC), and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in participants with histologically proven pancreatic cancer.

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Objective: Phenotypic (Sensititre Myco, pDST) and genotypic drug susceptibility testing (GenoType NTM DR, gDST) in M. avium complex (MAC) have become available as standardized assays, but comparable data is needed. This study aimed to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic drug susceptibility patterns in MAC clinical isolates.

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